A Quick Note On Architechture...
(back-dated post #5)

What I described of the auditorium in Tiruvella seems pretty typical of Indian architechture and construction. Buildings, even the interior, are made almost exclusively of bare concrete and tile (as i imagine wood or drywall or carpet would warp and/or moulder in the 97% humidity present most days), and every light i've seen has been flourescent. This lends every building, be it a home, office, shop, school, or hospital, a more-than-vaguely-institutional air. I found this rather alarming at first, but am starting to adjust to it, i think. and what these buildings lack in western warmth and charm, they make up for with strict efficiency-- nothing in Indian construction is superfluous; everything seems to serve some purpose. So these buildings are not pretty or "nice" by Western standards, but they get the job done. Which is, I suppose, the point after all.